


Night Yields Permanence

by baltshake



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 17:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11741403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baltshake/pseuds/baltshake
Summary: Lonely nights can make the imagination run pretty wild sometimes. Luckily, Zack returns home to remind Cloud that safety isn’t too far away.





	Night Yields Permanence

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long year since I've written anything wow!! This is for ectocosme's Clack Week prompts on tumblr. The prompt for Day 1 was "bond" or "dream" so I sort of combined them both. :D As always, comments and critiques are welcome!

Cloud jerked awake with a gasp and lay staring at the ceiling for a few long moments while his eyes adjusted to the dark. He traced the lines of light spilling in from the shuttered window and managed to get his breathing back under control as he realized where he was and why he was alone.

Zack had given him a spare key card to his apartment to come in while he was gone but he hadn’t really used it too much. Infantry had curfew and it wasn’t like he could just waltz into the SOLDIER apartment building like he owned the place. But tonight he’d needed to. 

Unwrapping himself from the near stranglehold the blankets had on him, Cloud got up and made his way to the bathroom. His eyes strained to locate where he was but thankfully it wasn’t that long of a trip. Deciding not to turn on the light, he splashed some cold water on his face and took some deep breaths to calm down.

One look at his dark shape in the mirror had him letting out a yelp and stumbled backwards. He smacked his head against the doorway and fell over sideways, clutching his head with a groan and took down a towel with him that fell partially on him. The other part seemed to have fallen on the toilet plunger and, when Cloud moved, got knocked over and smacked into the toilet

The lights came on and Cloud peered out from under the towel with watery eyes. “Zack.”

Standing in the doorway, Zack looked a mixture of confused and concerned as he knelt down in front of Cloud. He was still in uniform and some streaks of grime were dusting his cheeks and armor. Besides the tired slump of his shoulders, he didn’t look any worse for wear.

“Hey baby. What’s going on?” Zack’s hands were gentle as he took the towel off Cloud’s head and cupped his cheek to get a look at him. “You hit your head?”

More embarrassed at being caught like this, Cloud lowered his head with pink cheeks and gave a small shrug. “Guess so.” He didn’t want to outright lie but he also didn’t want to admit to his boyfriend who could see in the dark that he had gotten scared by his own face in the dark. That wasn’t cool.

Still looking worried, Zack gently felt at the back of his head and made a soothing noise when Cloud flinched. “Let’s go get you some ice,” he offered and smiled, taking Cloud’s hands to help him up and guided him to the kitchen. “I can clean up the bathroom after I shower.”

“Mm.” 

Now that Zack was here, Cloud was able to start relaxing as he filled the air with movement and sound. It wasn’t that he was always talking but he just had a presence about him that made things comfortable. Safe. Even though he knew Zack was most likely exhausted to his core, he still took time to make sure Cloud was feeling alright and even prepared the bag of ice for his head. Little things he didn’t have to do but still did them. 

“Here you go!” Zack grinned as he offered the bag and dropped a kiss to Cloud’s forehead when he accepted it. “I’m gonna shower real fast but I’ll be out in a few minutes, okay?”

Looking down as he smiled, Cloud nodded and let out a little noise of agreement. He took the ice and followed Zack back to the bedroom, watching him grab his pajamas then leave. Soon the shower was turned on and he pressed the ice to his head, making a face at the feeling but knew it was better than sleeping on a chocobo egg sized bruise. 

Deciding that he didn’t just want to sit in the dark after what had happened, he went to the window instead. Pulling up the blinds, Cloud gazed down at the parts of the city he could see. From here, he had a good view of the Shinra building and part of LOVELESS Avenue. He could also see the glowing green of the Sector 0 Reactor and made a small face. It wasn’t exactly the prettiest piece of architecture he’d ever seen.

From how high up he was, Cloud watched a couple late night revelers wander down the street though he really couldn’t tell much about them. One was wearing red and the other black. He wondered if they were going home after a night at the theater. 

“You zoning out?” Zack asked, coming up behind Cloud and put his cheek on the side of his head. Normally, his chin would go on top of Cloud’s head but he didn’t want to aggravate his injury any. “City’s pretty quiet tonight. Everyone’s asleep.”

“Mm.” Cloud leaned back against Zack and smiled as strong arms wrapped around him and a kiss was pressed to his temple. “We should be too. You probably have to wake up bright and early even though you just got back, right?”

The groan of pain he got made him chuckle and was all the answer he needed. That changed into a yelp as he stuck the hand that had been holding the ice onto Zack’s neck.

Faking a growl, Zack picked up Cloud who shrieked and tossed him onto the bed. That quickly turned into a laugh as he was mercilessly tickled and flailed underneath the other until he gasped out, “Zack, stop!”

Panting, Cloud next let out an “oof” of surprise as Zack collapsed on top of him. “You’re heavy,” he mock grumbled but that didn’t stop himself from holding Zack to his chest. When he didn’t receive a response, he wiggled a little. “Zack, you’re really heavy.”

“Mhm?”

“You’re crushing me.”

“I’m helping you strength train. You need more muscles.”

Cloud heaved out a dramatic sigh. When he heard a chuckle, he grinned and stroked Zack’s hair while sighing louder. 

“Okay, okay!” Rolling them over, Zack had moved them both to their sides and shifted them so the ice was pressing back against Cloud’s head and their legs were tangled together. “We forgot to close the blinds.”

“I’m not getting up now. You crushed me.”

“Lazy.” Zack chuckled again and pressed their foreheads together. “Spoiled and lazy.”

“It’s your own fault,” Cloud retaliated, looking back at Zack with a smile before pecking his lips lightly. “You let me get away with everything.”

It was Zack’s turn to heave a loud sigh as he nuzzled his nose into Cloud’s hair. He was defeated for now and let the quiet come back over the space as they held each other. 

At some point, he asked, “You wanna tell me what had you so scared earlier?” and held Cloud a bit tighter when he felt him stiffen. “That bad?”

Cloud shook his head and burrowed closer to Zack. “Just a bad dream,” he said quietly. “I don’t really remember it now. It didn’t make a lot of sense when it was happening.” He let his eyes close when he felt Zack start to stroke his back. “It was just a dream. You don’t have to worry about it, Zack.”

“You know I will anyway,” Zack said and pinched Cloud’s side gently when he heard him snort. “I worry about you so I’ll just keep on worrying.”

“Go to sleep, worry wart. I’m really fine now.” 

Cloud didn’t want to add that it was because Zack was there. Even if what he had seen did happen – the planet fracturing and the Lifestream erupting against a terrible force – he knew they’d be fine. Just as long as Zack was there, he’d be fine.


End file.
